Radio 4 explores Northern Soul in Japan

Radio production company Made in Manchester has produced a documentary for BBC Radio 4 exploring how Northern Soul has made a mark in Japan.
Presented by Annie Nightingale, Shine Like Tokyo: Northern Soul Goes East will be on-air at 10.30am on Saturday, September 21st.

The programme will mark 40 years this month since DJ Russ Winstanley started playing Northern Soul to thousands of young people at the Wigan Casino.

Programme producer Liam Starkey says: ‘Northern Soul is often thought to be firmly rooted in place and time but four decades on from the opening of the Wigan Casino, Annie Nightingale discovers how it’s capturing the imagination of people as far east as Japan.’

Annie looks back at the roots of Northern Soul before hearing from DJs spinning their discs in Kobe, a band in Tokyo and regulars at night spots in several Japanese cities. Soulies in England and Japan also reflect on what it is that helps them ‘keep the faith’ while Annie tries to work out if there’s a connection between the Northern England of the 70s and the Japan of 2013.